Homemade Bananas and Cream Instant Oatmeal Packets

My brother recently mentioned that his favorite oatmeal, as well as that of my nephews,' is the Bananas and Cream flavor found only in the Fruit and Cream variety boxes of instant oatmeal. There are only 2 packets per box and this flavor isn't sold on its own, so they have to eat their way through a lot of other flavors in each box.  We can't be having that!

I found a recipe online for making your own instant oatmeal packets and ended up with this recipe. I tested it out on my youngest nephew last night when he was ready for his second or third dinner (growth spurt much?) I asked him if he liked it and if it was better than the kind that you could buy, but he was so busy frantically shoveling it into his mouth he could only give me a thumbs up. So I think that's good.

The recipe listed above is for making a big batch of the mix and then dishing it into smaller packets. That's a good idea, but I was experimenting with the ratios of the different ingredients to make it work for my nephew's preferences. Also, I initially bought some banana chips, but then changed my mind and decided that Freeze Dried Bananas (found at Trader Joe's) would probably be better in this due to their texture and lack of sugary/oily coating that banana chips have.

To start with I used my Magic Bullet mini blender to grind up some quick oats, and then I also ground up about 2/3 of the packet of the Freeze Dried Bananas. The rest of the bananas I roughly chopped after checking with kiddo to see if he wanted chunks of banana in his oatmeal.

 Per packet of oats:



1/8 cup quick oats

1/8 cup ground quick oats
1 teaspoon ground freeze dried banana
1 teaspoon vanilla flavored powdered creamer
2 teaspoons of brown sugar
a few pieces of chopped freeze dried banana
dash of salt

I cooked with about 1/2 a cup of milk, adding a bit more when it looked too thick.With the packet of freeze dried bananas I bought and the amounts I used I was able to make 14 servings of oatmeal.

I still have to see what my brother thinks of my new creation, but I'm happy the nephew likes it!

Lasagna French Bread and Mustard Green Beans with Walnuts

With the tomatoes made ahead of time and refrigerated, this easy meal comes together in just the time it takes to saute green beans!

I made some of batgirl's Oven Roasted Tomatoes a few days ago and am so in love! I've seriously been eating this stuff with a spoon. Which is kinda nuts, since in general I'm not a fan of cooked tomatoes. I'll eat them raw all day long, but hate chunks of cooked tomatoes in soup and pasta sauce. But these tomatoes are nom! For the tomatoes I used overripe grape tomatoes, smashed garlic cloves, olive oil, salt and pepper, red pepper flakes, fresh chopped Italian parsley, and dried oregano.

For the Lasagna French Bread:

Oven roasted tomatoes, re-heated if made ahead of time (see link above)
French bread, sliced and toasted or broiled
Ricotta cheese (mix with garlic and/or parmesan if you're fancy)
Parmesan or Mozzarella, shredded, (optional)

Toast or broil bread, top each slice with a couple Tablespoons of Ricotta and a generous helping of roasted tomatoes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and add some shredded cheese, if desired.


For the Mustard Green Beans with Walnuts:

Lately I've been pretty obsessed with Jennifer Prince's book Eat Like a Farmgirl: 3 Ingredient Plant Based Meals. This is my take on an idea from the book.

Fresh green beans, trimmed and cut in half
Olive oil
salt and pepper
garlic powder
walnuts (about 2 T per 2 cups of beans, or whatever looks like a nice amount)
Grainy mustard, I like Plochman's (about 1 T per 2 cups of green beans)

Saute your green beans over medium high heat in a little olive oil, season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Add your walnuts and cook until tender-crisp, or to your liking. If you get impatient you can throw in a few tablespoons of water, place a lid on the pan and let steam for a few minutes. When they are done, stir in the grainy mustard.